Vauxhall strike talks continue

Car giant Vauxhall was today hoping that production would resume at Ellesmere Port following wildcat strikes that brought the plant to a standstill.

Thousands of workers at its Merseyside factory took unofficial action yesterday over fears that jobs are set to be axed.

But managers were hoping that production of the Astra will resume today.

Meanwhile, talks between unions and the company will continue despite the “unhelpful” action.

Production at Vauxhall’s only UK plant was suspended when when workers staged a lightning strike over fears that up to 1,000 jobs could be axed.

Union leaders refused to condemn the unofficial walkout at the plant describing it as “understandable”.

General Motors is in talks with unions about production at the plant as part of a review of capacity across its three Astra factories in Europe.

The company stressed again that no decision had been made, but there are fears among unions that up to 1,000 jobs could be cut by axing one of the shifts at the factory.

Comments in Germany by GM Europe Chief Carl-Peter Forster raised fears that job losses were planned.

He reportedly said that the idea of spreading cuts over the car giant’s other European plants was “not super attractive”.

About 900 workers arrived for the morning shift, but decided halfway through to walkout in protest at the comments.

The afternoon shift followed suit, leading to the lost production of hundreds of Astra cars and vans.

No cars were built on the nightshift either as workers continued with the unofficial strike.

Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, said he could not condemn the strike because of the “outrageous” comments made by Mr Forster.

“For him to make these comments at exactly the same time as meetings are being held across Europe to try to find an alternative to losing a shift at Ellesmere Port is beyond belief.

“The timing is so insensitive,” he said, adding that the walkout was “understandable”.

Workers arriving for the afternoon shift yesterday said they felt let down by General Motors and were expecting to walk out.

Paint shop worker Alan Jones, 50, from Birkenhead, said: “This is just another slap in the gob for the British car industry.

“We’re easy pickings when it comes to laying off workers.

“They perform an audit on this factory every six months and we always mark higher than most of the other plants in standardisation, cost efficiency, safety, quality, you name it.

“This is a good performing, profitable factory, but that doesn’t seem to matter. When it comes to the bottom line, it’s cheaper and easier to get rid of British workers than in places like Germany, where the unions are stronger.”

Andy Parry, who also worked in the paint shop, said: “Morale in there is the lowest of the low.

“The lads in there have families and mortgages. I’ve just taken a £30,000 mortgage on my house to build an extension and now I’m worried that I won’t be able to pay it back.”

A Vauxhall spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed, and would urge everyone to return to work as soon as possible.

“GM Europe is constantly in discussions with all interested parties on improving the efficiency of Ellesmere Port, and aligning capacity for all other GME plants building the current generation Astra.

“In particular, we are working closely with the unions and works councils across Europe to achieve the best possible solution for all concerned.

“When those discussions have reached a conclusion we will discuss this with our workforce first.”